U.S. patent application number 12/906909 was filed with the patent office on 2012-04-19 for patterned perpendicular magnetic recording disk drive and medium with patterned exchange bridge layer below the data islands.
This patent application is currently assigned to HITACHI GLOBAL STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES NETHERLANDS B.V.. Invention is credited to Olav Hellwig, Dan Saylor Kercher, Ernesto E. Marinero, Manfred Ernst Schabes, Dieter K. Weller, Gabriel Zeltzer.
Application Number | 20120092790 12/906909 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45933977 |
Filed Date | 2012-04-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120092790 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hellwig; Olav ; et
al. |
April 19, 2012 |
PATTERNED PERPENDICULAR MAGNETIC RECORDING DISK DRIVE AND MEDIUM
WITH PATTERNED EXCHANGE BRIDGE LAYER BELOW THE DATA ISLANDS
Abstract
A patterned perpendicular magnetic recording disk with discrete
data islands of recording layer (RL) material includes a substrate,
a patterned exchange bridge layer of magnetic material between the
substrate and the islands, and an optional exchange-coupling
control layer (CCL) between the exchange bridge layer and the
islands. The exchange bridge layer has patterned pedestals below
the islands. The exchange bridge layer controls exchange
interactions between the RLs in adjacent islands to compensate the
dipolar fields between islands, and the pedestals concentrate the
flux from the write head. The disk may include a soft underlayer
(SUL) of soft magnetically permeable material on the substrate and
a nonmagnetic exchange break layer (EBL) on the SUL between the SUL
and the exchange bridge layer. In a thermally-assisted recording
(TAR) disk a heat sink layer may be located below the exchange
bridge layer and the SUL may be optional.
Inventors: |
Hellwig; Olav; (San Jose,
CA) ; Kercher; Dan Saylor; (Santa Cruz, CA) ;
Marinero; Ernesto E.; (Saratoga, CA) ; Schabes;
Manfred Ernst; (Saratoga, CA) ; Weller; Dieter
K.; (San Jose, CA) ; Zeltzer; Gabriel;
(Mountain View, CA) |
Assignee: |
HITACHI GLOBAL STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES
NETHERLANDS B.V.
San Jose
CA
|
Family ID: |
45933977 |
Appl. No.: |
12/906909 |
Filed: |
October 18, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
360/59 ; 360/110;
360/135; 428/846; G9B/5.026; G9B/5.04; G9B/5.293 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G11B 5/855 20130101;
G11B 2005/0021 20130101; G11B 5/746 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
360/59 ; 360/135;
360/110; 428/846; G9B/5.293; G9B/5.04; G9B/5.026 |
International
Class: |
G11B 5/82 20060101
G11B005/82; G11B 5/02 20060101 G11B005/02; G11B 5/706 20060101
G11B005/706; G11B 5/127 20060101 G11B005/127 |
Claims
1. A patterned perpendicular magnetic recording medium comprising:
a substrate; a soft underlayer (SUL) of soft magnetically permeable
material on the substrate; a plurality of discrete islands
comprising perpendicular magnetic recording material; an exchange
bridge layer of magnetic material between the SUL and the islands
and connecting the islands with magnetic material, the exchange
bridge layer being patterned into a plurality of discrete
pedestals, each pedestal being located below an island; and a
nonmagnetic exchange break layer (EBL) between the SUL and the
exchange bridge layer for breaking magnetic exchange coupling
between the exchange bridge layer and the SUL.
2. The medium of claim 1 wherein the thickness of the exchange
bridge layer between the pedestals and the height of the pedestals
control the amount of exchange coupling between the connected
islands.
3. The medium of claim 1 wherein the thickness of the exchange
bridge layer between the pedestals is between 0.5 and 3 nm.
4. The medium of claim 1 wherein the height of the pedestals is
between 1 and 5 nm.
5. The medium of claim 1 wherein the exchange bridge layer is
formed of a material selected from the group consisting of alloys
of CoFe, CoNiFe, NiFe, FeCoB, CoCuFe, FeAlSi, FeTaN, FeN, FeTaC,
CoTaZr and CoZrNb.
6. The medium of claim 1 wherein the exchange bridge layer
comprises a multilayer selected from the group consisting of Co/Pt,
Co/Pd and Co/Ni multilayers.
7. The medium of claim 1 further comprising a coupling control
layer (CCL) of nonmagnetic or weakly ferromagnetic material on each
pedestal below its island.
8. The medium of claim 7 wherein the CCL is formed of a material
selected from the group consisting of (a) Pd, Pt, Ru, Rh, Ir and
Cu, (b) a RuCo alloy with Co less than about 65 atomic percent, (c)
a RuCoCr alloy with Co less than about 65 atomic percent, and (d)
an alloy of Co and one or more of Cr and B with the combined
content of Cr and B greater than about 30 atomic percent.
9. The medium of claim 1 wherein the SUL is formed of a material
selected from the group consisting of alloys of CoFe, CoNiFe, NiFe,
FeCoB, CoCuFe, FeAlSi, FeTaN, FeN, FeTaC, CoTaZr and CoZrNb.
10. The medium of claim 1 wherein the SUL is a lamination of
multiple magnetically permeable films separated by nonmagnetic
films.
11. The medium of claim 10 wherein the nonmagnetic films in the
lamination provide antiferromagnetic coupling of the magnetically
permeable films in the lamination.
12. The medium of claim 1 wherein the perpendicular magnetic
recording material is selected from a chemically-ordered alloy
selected from alloys of FePt, CoPt, FePd, CoPd, CoPt.sub.3 and
CoPd.sub.3; a chemically-ordered L1.sub.0 or L1.sub.1 phase alloy
selected from FePt--X and CoPt--X, where the element X is selected
from the group consisting of Ni, Au, Cu, Pd and Ag; and a
multilayer selected from the group consisting of Co/Pt, Co/Pd,
Co/Ni, Fe/Pt and Fe/Pd multilayers.
13. The medium of claim 1 wherein the perpendicular magnetic
recording material is a multilayer selected from the group
consisting of Co/Pt, Co/Pd, Co/Ni, Fe/Pt and Fe/Pd multilayers.
14. The medium of claim 1 wherein the perpendicular magnetic
recording material comprises a polycrystalline alloy comprising Co
and Pt.
15. A patterned perpendicular magnetic recording disk comprising: a
substrate; an exchange bridge layer of magnetic material on the
substrate, the exchange bridge layer comprising a base layer and a
plurality of pedestals extending from the base layer and arranged
in a pattern of generally concentric data tracks; a coupling
control layer (CCL) on each pedestal and selected from a
nonmagnetic material and a weakly ferromagnetic material; and a
magnetic data island comprising perpendicular magnetic recording
material on the CCL of each pedestal, wherein adjacent data islands
and their underlying CCLs are connected by the exchange bridge
layer, the exchange bridge layer and CCLs controlling exchange
coupling between adjacent data islands.
16. The disk of claim 15 wherein thickness of the exchange bridge
layer between the pedestals is between 0.5 and 3 nm and the height
of the pedestals is between 1 and 5 nm.
17. The disk of claim 15 wherein the exchange bridge layer is
formed of a material selected from the group consisting of alloys
of CoFe, CoNiFe, NiFe, FeCoB, CoCuFe, FeAlSi, FeTaN, FeN, FeTaC,
CoTaZr and CoZrNb.
18. The disk of claim 15 wherein the exchange bridge layer
comprises a multilayer selected from the group consisting of Co/Pt,
Co/Pd and Co/Ni multilayers.
19. The disk of claim 15 wherein the CCL is formed of a material
selected from the group consisting of (a) Pd, Pt, Ru, Rh, Ir and
Cu, (b) a RuCo alloy with Co less than about 65 atomic percent, (c)
a RuCoCr alloy with Co less than about 65 atomic percent, and (d)
an alloy of Co and one or more of Cr and B with the combined
content of Cr and B greater than about 30 atomic percent.
20. The disk of claim 15 further comprising a soft underlayer (SUL)
of soft magnetically permeable material on the substrate and a
nonmagnetic exchange break layer (EBL) on the SUL between the SUL
and the exchange bridge layer.
21. The disk of claim 15 further comprising a heat sink layer
between the substrate and the exchange bridge layer.
22. A magnetic recording disk drive comprising: the disk of claim
15; a write head for magnetizing the magnetic recording material in
the data islands; and a read head for reading the magnetized data
islands.
23. A thermal assisted recording (TAR) magnetic recording disk
drive comprising: the disk of claim 15 further comprising a heat
sink layer between the substrate and the exchange bridge layer; a
write head for applying a magnetic field to the data islands; an
optical data channel and near-field transducer for directing
radiation to the data islands to heat the islands in the presence
of the magnetic field from the write head to enable the magnetic
recording material in the data islands to be magnetized, wherein
the pedestals focus the radiation to the islands; and a read head
for reading the magnetized data islands.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates generally to patterned perpendicular
magnetic recording media, such as disks for use in magnetic
recording hard disk drives, and more particularly to patterned
perpendicular disks with ultra-high data densities.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Magnetic recording hard disk drives with patterned magnetic
recording media have been proposed to increase data density. In
conventional continuous magnetic recording media, the magnetic
recording layer is a continuous layer over the entire surface of
the disk. In patterned media, also called bit-patterned-media
(BPM), the magnetic recording layer on the disk is patterned into
small isolated data islands arranged in concentric data tracks.
Patterned-media disks may be longitudinal magnetic recording disks,
wherein the magnetization directions are parallel to or in the
plane of the recording layer, or perpendicular magnetic recording
disks, wherein the magnetization directions are perpendicular to or
out-of-the-plane of the recording layer. Perpendicular media will
likely be the choice for patterned media because of the potential
for increased data density. To produce magnetic isolation of the
patterned data islands, the magnetization of the spaces between the
islands is destroyed or substantially reduced to render these
spaces essentially nonmagnetic. Alternatively, the media may be
fabricated so that that there is no magnetic material in the spaces
between the islands.
[0005] One problem associated with patterned perpendicular media is
a wide distribution of the switching field, i.e., the write field
required to switch the magnetization of an island from one magnetic
state to the other state. Ideally the switching field distribution
(SFD) width would be zero, meaning that all the islands would
switch at the same write field strength. A high-width SFD increases
the likelihood of the write field switching the magnetization of
islands adjacent to the island being addressed, i.e., "overwriting"
of previously written data. One significant contribution to a
high-width SFD is the magnetostatic coupling of neighboring
magnetic islands due to the interactions of dipolar fields from
adjacent islands.
[0006] Patterned perpendicular disks have been proposed with
ultra-high areal bit densities (at least 1 Terabits/in.sup.2).
However, the adverse effect of magnetostatic coupling becomes more
pronounced as the spacing between the islands decreases, which
occurs as the areal bit density of the patterned media increases.
Ultra-high areal density may also cause an additional problem. Due
to the high write field and limited head field gradients achievable
there may be fringing fields from the write head leaking into
adjacent islands, which can cause overwriting. This problem is
exacerbated because the fringing fields acting on adjacent islands
encompass relatively large angles with the perpendicular easy-axis
of the recording layer on the islands, which increases the
likelihood of overwriting.
[0007] Patterned perpendicular disks have been proposed primarily
for use in conventional magnetic recording, wherein an inductive
write head alone writes data to the islands. However, patterned
perpendicular disks have also been proposed for use in
heat-assisted recording, also called thermally-assisted recording
(TAR). In a TAR system, an optical waveguide with a near-field
transducer (NFT) directs heat from a radiation source, such as a
laser, to heat localized regions of the magnetic recording layer on
the disk. The radiation heats the magnetic material locally to near
or above its Curie temperature to lower the coercivity enough for
writing to occur by the inductive write head.
[0008] What is needed is an ultra-high areal density patterned
perpendicular disk, usable in both conventional recording systems
and TAR systems, with data islands less susceptible to the adverse
effects of magnetostatic coupling and fringing fields.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The invention relates to a patterned perpendicular magnetic
recording medium, such as a patterned perpendicular magnetic
recording disk for use in hard disk drives, that has discrete data
islands with perpendicular magnetic recording layer (RL) material,
and to a disk drive with the disk. The disk includes a substrate, a
soft underlayer (SUL) of soft magnetically permeable material on
the substrate, a nonmagnetic exchange break layer (EBL) on the SUL
that breaks the magnetic exchange between the SUL and the islands,
a patterned exchange bridge layer of magnetic material between the
EBL and the islands, and an optional exchange-coupling control
layer (CCL) between the exchange bridge layer and the islands. In
the disk for use in a TAR disk drive, a heat sink layer may be
located below the patterned exchange bridge layer, and the SUL may
be an optional layer located below the heat sink layer.
[0010] The exchange bridge layer is patterned, typically by an
etching process, such that it has a base layer and patterned
pedestals extending from the base layer, with the pedestals being
located below and supporting the islands. The exchange bridge layer
is formed of soft magnetic material with high magnetic permeability
and controls exchange interactions between the RLs in adjacent
islands to compensate the dipolar fields between islands. The
pedestals also concentrate the flux from the write head, thereby
reducing the adverse effect of fringing fields. When the medium is
used in a TAR system, the pedestals also focus the radiation from
the electric charge oscillations from the NFT onto the islands,
thereby increasing the localization of thermal input to the RLs of
the islands.
[0011] The optional CCL is formed of nonmagnetic or weakly
ferromagnetic material and allows some level of exchange coupling
between the RL of an island and the exchange bridge layer, and thus
further controls the exchange interactions between the RLs in
adjacent islands.
[0012] For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of
the present invention, reference should be made to the following
detailed description taken together with the accompanying
figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0013] FIG. 1A is a schematic representation of a perpendicular
magnetic recording system with a prior art patterned perpendicular
medium.
[0014] FIG. 1B is a sectional view through a portion of a disk and
an air-bearing slider that supports an optical channel and
near-field transducer (NFT) for use in a thermal assisted recording
(TAR) system.
[0015] FIG. 2 is a schematic illustrating the adverse effect of
magnetostatic coupling between adjacent data islands in a patterned
perpendicular medium according to the prior art.
[0016] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the patterned perpendicular
medium according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0017] FIG. 1A is a highly schematic representation of a prior art
perpendicular magnetic recording system with patterned
perpendicular media. The system can be implemented in a magnetic
recording disk drive, with the medium being a magnetic recording
disk with the patterned bits arranged into concentric circular data
tracks. FIG. 1A thus shows a portion of a disk 10 that includes a
substrate 18 with a "soft" or relatively low-coercivity
magnetically permeable underlayer (SUL) 16 having a relatively
planar surface. Layer 19 is a nonmagnetic exchange break layer
(EBL) located between the magnetically permeable SUL 16 and the
recording layer material in the patterned bits 30 to break the
magnetic exchange coupling between the recording layer and the SUL
16. A plurality of discrete patterned magnetic recording bits or
islands 30 extend generally perpendicularly from the EBL 19. The
islands 30 are spaced apart by nonmagnetic regions 32, which may
formed of polymeric material for planarizing disk 10. The islands
30 are magnetized perpendicularly, as depicted by arrows 40,
resulting in the recorded bits being stored in the recording layer
of the islands 30 in a generally perpendicular or out-of-plane
orientation. The islands 30 are discrete magnetic islands that
function as the patterned bits.
[0018] Also shown in FIG. 1A is the read head 60 and the write head
50 (with write pole 52 and a return pole 54). Write current passes
through a coil 56 of the write head 50 to generate a magnetic field
(arrow 42) at the write pole 52. This magnetic field magnetizes the
recording layer on the island 30 beneath the write pole in the
direction 40 as the disk 10 moves past the write head 50 in the
direction of arrow 23. The SUL 16 serves as a flux return path
(arrow 17) for the magnetic field between the write pole 52 and the
return pole 54 of the write head 50. The detection or reading of
the recorded bits is by a read head 60, typically a
magnetoresistive (MR) read head, such as a tunneling MR (TMR) read
head in which a sense current passes perpendicularly through the
layers making up the head. A pair of magnetic permeable shields,
one of which is shown as shield S1, is located on opposite sides of
read head 60 to prevent magnetic flux from bits other than the bit
being read from reaching the read head 60. In a magnetic recording
disk drive the write head 50, read head 60 and shields are formed
on the trailing surface of an air-bearing slider that has its
air-bearing surface (ABS) facing the disk.
[0019] FIG. 1A thus depicts a conventional magnetic recording
system with patterned perpendicular media. However, heat-assisted
recording, also called thermally-assisted recording (TAR), has been
proposed. In a TAR system, an optical waveguide with a near-field
transducer (NFT) directs heat from a radiation source, such as a
laser, to heat localized regions of the magnetic recording layer on
the disk. The radiation heats the magnetic material locally to near
or above its Curie temperature to lower the coercivity enough for
writing to occur by the write head.
[0020] An air-bearing slider for use in a TAR system is shown in
FIG. 1B, which is not drawn to scale because of the difficulty in
showing the very small features. FIG. 1B is a sectional view
through a portion of a TAR disk 10' and the air-bearing slider that
supports the write head 50, read head 60, and shields S1 and S2. In
the TAR disk 10', a heat sink layer 21 is located below the islands
30 and nonmagnetic regions 32. Heat sink layer 21 is formed of a
material that is a good thermal conductor, like Cu, Au, Ag or other
suitable metals or metal alloys. Layer 19 may be a thermal resist
layer, such as a layer of MgO or SiO2, between the heat sink layer
21 and the islands 30 to help control the heat flow so that heat is
not distributed too rapidly into the heat sink layer 21. The TAR
disk 10' may also include one or more seed layers (not shown)
directly below the islands 30 to facilitate the growth of the
magnetic material in the islands. The TAR disk 10' may also include
an optional SUL, which if present would be located below the heat
sink layer 21. The slider has an air-bearing surface (ABS) that
faces the disk 10'. The slider also supports a laser 70, mirror 71,
optical channel 72 and NFT 74, which has its output at the ABS. The
optical waveguide or channel 72 is depicted in FIG. 1B as extending
through the yoke of write head 50 and being located between the
write pole 52 and return pole 54; however the optical waveguide 72
may be located at other locations on the slider, such as between
shield S2 and return pole 54, or between the write pole 52 and the
outer face of the slider.
[0021] When write-current is directed through coil 56, the write
pole 52 directs magnetic flux to the data islands 30, as
represented by arrow 80 directed to one of the data islands 30. The
dashed line 17 with arrows shows the flux return path back to the
return pole 54. The NFT 74 directs near-field radiation, as
represented by wavy arrow 82, to the data islands 31 as the TAR
disk 10' moves in the direction 23 relative to the slider. The
electric charge oscillations in the NFT heat the data islands 30 at
the same time the data islands are exposed to the write field from
the write pole 52. This raises the temperature of the magnetic
recording material in the data islands to near or above its Curie
temperature to thereby lower the coercivity of the material and
enable the magnetization of the data island to be switched by the
write field.
[0022] FIG. 2 is a schematic illustrating the adverse effect of
magnetostatic coupling between adjacent data islands in patterned
perpendicular media. The media structure includes three adjacent
discrete magnetic islands 202, 204, 206, and two nonmagnetic spaces
or regions 205, 207 separating the magnetic islands. The magnetic
islands are located on a nonmagnetic exchange break layer (EBL) 230
that is formed on the SUL. Each magnetic island is shown with a
recording layer (RL) and a protective overcoat (OC). The magnetic
islands are depicted as being magnetized in the same perpendicular
direction, as shown by arrows 212, 214, 216 in the RLs of islands
202, 204, 206, respectively. The field lines from magnetized island
204 are shown to illustrate how each magnetized island may have a
magnetostatic coupling effect on adjacent islands. The field from
magnetization 214 of island 204 is a "demagnetizing" field because
it is opposite to the magnetizations 212 and 216 of islands 202 and
206, respectively. This field may tend to demagnetize islands 202,
204 and also affects the switching field of these islands. Pending
application Ser. No. 11/964,685, filed Dec. 26, 2007 and assigned
to the same assignee as this application, describes a BPM disk with
a continuous non-patterned exchange-bridge layer below the islands
for mitigating the effects of magnetostatic coupling.
[0023] The adverse effect of magnetostatic coupling becomes more
pronounced as the spacing between the islands decreases, which
occurs as the areal bit density of the patterned media increases.
If the islands have a width and length of about 20 nm and the
island-to-island spacing in both the radial or cross-track
direction and the along-the-track direction is about 35 nm, then
these dimensions would result in areal bit density of about 500
Gbits/in.sup.2. To achieve patterned-media disks with an ultra-high
areal bit density (at least 1 Terabits/in.sup.2), smaller islands
with a track pitch of about 36 nm and an island pitch of about 18
nm will be required if a 2:1 aspect ratio of the cross-track pitch
to the along-the-track pitch is chosen.
[0024] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the patterned perpendicular
medium according to the invention. The medium is shown with two
adjacent discrete magnetic data islands 302, 304 and a nonmagnetic
space or region 305 separating the magnetic islands. Each magnetic
island is shown with a recording layer (RL) and a protective
overcoat (OC). The magnetic islands are depicted as being
magnetized in the same perpendicular direction, as shown by arrows
312, 314 in the RLs of islands 302, 304, respectively.
[0025] The RL may be formed of conventional magnetic recording
material like a granular polycrystalline cobalt alloy, such as a
CoPt or CoPtCr alloy, with or without a suitable well-known
segregant, such as oxides, like oxides of Si and Ta. In
applications without TAR, a preferred structure of the RL includes
this type of granular polycrystalline cobalt alloy, but typically
with less segregant than used in a conventional non-patterned
magnetic recording medium. The reduced amount of segregant leads to
strong intergranular magnetic exchange coupling between the grains
within an island. The RL may also be a metallic multilayer with
perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, like a Co/Ni, Co/Pt, Co/Pd,
Fe/Pt or Fe/Pd multilayer. The RL may also be one of the well-known
chemically-ordered binary alloys CoPt, CoPd, FePt, FePd,
CoPt.sub.3, Co.sub.3Pt, CoPd.sub.3 and Co.sub.3Pd or pseudo-binary
alloys based on the CoPt and FePt L1.sub.0 phase.
Chemically-ordered alloys of CoPt, CoCrPt, CoPd, FePt and FePd (all
ordered in L1.sub.0 or L1.sub.1) and CoPt.sub.3, Co.sub.3Pt and
CoPd.sub.3 (all ordered in L1.sub.2) in their bulk form, are known
for their high magneto-crystalline anisotropy and magnetization,
properties that are desirable for high-density magnetic recording
materials. Pseudo-binary alloys based on the CoPt L1.sub.1 and FePt
L1.sub.0 phase, e.g., (Co.sub.(y)Pt.sub.(100-y))--X and
(Fe.sub.(y)Pt.sub.(100-y))--X, where y is between about 45 and 55
atomic percent and the element X may be Ni, Au, Cu, Pd or Ag and is
present in the range of between about 0% to about 20% atomic
percent, are also suitable high anisotropy materials. While the
pseudo-binary alloys in general have similarly high anisotropy as
the binary alloys FePt and CoPt, they allow additional control over
the magnetic and structural properties of the media. Combinations
of metallic multilayers and layers of granular alloys are also
possible as the RL.
[0026] The RL may also be an exchange-coupled composite, also
called "exchange-spring", perpendicular magnetic recording medium
like that known for conventional continuous magnetic recording.
This type of medium is a composite medium of two ferromagnetically
exchange-coupled magnetic layers with different anisotropy fields
(H.sub.k). In the presence of a uniform write field the
magnetization of the lower-H.sub.k layer will rotate first and
assist in the reversal of the magnetization of the higher-H.sub.k
layer. This behavior is sometimes called the "exchange-spring"
behavior. BPM with an exchange-spring RL has been proposed in US
20080292907 A1, assigned to the same assignee as this
application.
[0027] The OC formed on top of the RL may be an amorphous
"diamond-like" carbon (DLC) film or another known protective
overcoat, such as a Si-nitride, a boron nitride or a boron
carbide.
[0028] The medium of FIG. 3 also includes a substrate, a SUL on the
substrate, and a nonmagnetic EBL on the SUL. The SUL may be a
single layer formed of magnetically permeable materials, such as
alloys of CoNiFe, FeCoB, CoCuFe, NiFe, FeAlSi, FeTaN, FeN, FeTaC,
CoTaZr, CoFeTaZr, CoFeB, and CoZrNb, or a laminated structure
formed of multiple soft magnetic films separated by nonmagnetic
films, such as electrically conductive films like Al and CoCr or
antiferromagnetic coupling films like Ru and Ir. The SUL acts to
carry the flux from the magnetic write field and thus must be
relatively thick, typically in the range of 15 to 100 nm. The
substrate may be any commercially available glass disk blank, but
may also be a conventional aluminum alloy with a NiP surface
coating, or an alternative disk blank, such as silicon, canasite or
silicon-carbide. An optional adhesion layer (not shown) for the
growth of the SUL, such as an AlTi alloy, may be formed on the
substrate before deposition of the SUL.
[0029] The EBL is located on top of the SUL. It acts to break the
magnetic exchange coupling between the magnetically permeable films
of the SUL and the RLs in the islands. The EBL can be a nonmagnetic
titanium (Ti) or tantalum (Ta) layer; a non-electrically-conducting
material such as Si, Ge and SiGe alloys; a metal such as Cr, Ru, W,
Zr, Nb, Mo, V and Al; a metal alloy such as amorphous TaCr, CrTi
and NiP; an amorphous carbon such as CN.sub.x, CH.sub.x and C; or
oxides, nitrides or carbides of an element selected from the group
consisting of Si, Al, Zr, Ti, and B, or SiO.sub.2. The total
thickness of the EBL is between about 10-30 nm. An optional seed
layer (not shown) may be deposited on the surface of the SUL before
deposition of the EBL. For example, if a TaCr alloy is used as the
EBL, a 1-5 nm thick layer of SiN or Ta may be used as the seed
layer.
[0030] In this invention, as shown in FIG. 3, a patterned exchange
bridge layer 350 of magnetic material is located between the EBL
and the islands 302, 304, and an optional exchange-coupling control
layer (CCL) is located between the exchange bridge layer 350 and
the islands 302, 304. The EBL, exchange bridge layer 350, CCL and
RL are deposited as full films on the SUL. The structure is
lithographically patterned and then etched down to a portion of the
exchange bridge layer 350, as shown in FIG. 3. This results in the
base layer 351 and patterned pedestals 354 extending from the base
layer 351, with the pedestals 354 being located below and
supporting the discrete islands, like pedestal 352 below island 302
and pedestal 354 below island 304. The patterned structure may be
then planarized, such as by depositing a nonmagnetic polymeric
planarizing material over the structure in the nonmagnetic spaces,
like space 305, following by chemical-mechanical-polishing (CMP) to
form the planarized surface. The OC may then be deposited on the
planarized surface.
[0031] The exchange bridge layer 350 is formed of soft magnetic
material, i.e., material with a relatively low coercivity, with
high magnetic permeability. Thus the exchange bridge layer 350 may
be formed of any of the same materials used for the SUL. The
exchange bridge layer 350 may also be formed of a multilayer of
alternating films, like a Co/Pd, Co/Pt or Co/Ni multilayer. The low
coercivity and high magnetic permeability of the multilayer is
achieved by varying the relative thicknesses of the alternating
films. For example, a Co/Ni multilayer with 3-6 bilayers, with Co
having a thickness of 0.1 to 0.2 nm and Ni having a thickness of
0.4 to 0.7 nm, would provide a suitable material for the exchange
bridge layer 350. The exchange bridge layer 350 controls exchange
interactions between the RLs in adjacent islands to fully or
partially compensate the demagnetizing fields between islands. The
pedestals 352, 354 also concentrate the flux from the write head by
lowering the reluctance between the write pole and the SUL along a
path that contains the RL of the islands. The base layer 351 of
exchange bridge layer 350 has a thickness d1, which is preferably
between about 0.5 to 3.0 nm. The pedestals have a height d2 above
the base layer 351 that is preferably between about 1 to 5 nm. The
thicknesses d1 and d2, and in particular their ratio, may be
selected to achieve the desired amount of exchange interaction.
[0032] When the medium of this invention as shown in FIG. 3 is used
as a TAR disk in a TAR system, the SUL is optional. If there is no
SUL, then there is no need for an EBL. So the SUL and EBL in FIG. 3
would be replaced by a heat sink layer formed of a good thermal
conductor, like Cu, Au, Ag or other suitable metals or metal
alloys. If a SUL is used in the TAR disk it would be located below
the heat sink layer. In a TAR disk the pedestals 352, 354 also
focus the radiation from the electric charge oscillations from the
NFT onto the islands, thereby increasing the localization of
thermal input to the RL of the islands. When the pedestals serve
the additional function of focusing the radiation of the NFT 74,
the pedestals 352, 354 direct near-field radiation, as represented
by wavy arrow 82, to the data islands 31 as the disk 10 moves in
the direction 23 relative to the slider.
[0033] An optional exchange-coupling control layer (CCL) of
nonmagnetic or weakly ferromagnetic material may located between
the pedestals and the RLs in the islands. The CCL is used to allow
some level of exchange coupling between the RL of an island and the
exchange bridge layer 350 and thus to further control the exchange
interactions between the RLs in adjacent islands.
[0034] The CCL may be a hexagonal-close-packed (hcp) material,
which can mediate a weak ferromagnetic coupling and may also
provide a good template for the growth of the RL, depending on the
material used for the RL. Because the CCL must enable an
appropriate interlayer exchange coupling strength, it should be
either nonmagnetic or weakly ferromagnetic. Thus the CCL may be
formed of RuCo and RuCoCr alloys with low Co content (<about 65
atomic percent), or CoCr and CoCrB alloys with high Cr and/or B
content (Cr+B>about 30 atomic percent). Si-oxide or other oxides
like oxides of Ta, Ti, Nb, Cr, V and B may be added to these
alloys. The CCL may be formed of nonmagnetic materials like Ru, Rh,
Ir and Cu. The CCL may also be formed of face-centered-cubic (fcc)
materials, such as Pt or Pd or alloys based on Pt or Pd, because
these materials enable a ferromagnetic coupling between magnetic
layers of tunable strength (i.e., they reduce the coupling by
increasing the thickness) and are compatible with media growth.
Depending on the choice of material for CCL, and more particularly
on the concentration of cobalt (Co) in the CCL, the CCL may have a
thickness d3 of between about 0.2 to 1.5 nm. The CCL and the
exchange bridge layer 350 together act to control the exchange
interactions between adjacent RLs, and thus the value of d3 may be
selected depending on the thickness of d1 so as to achieve the
desired amount of exchange interaction.
[0035] The medium of FIG. 3 may be fabricated using well-known
sputter deposition and lithographic processes. The SUL (or multiple
films making up the SUL) may be sputter deposited on the substrate,
which may be a hard disk. The materials of the EBL, CCL, RL and OC
(any optional seed layers) are then sequentially deposited,
typically by sputtering, to the desired thicknesses on the SUL.
Then the structure is lithographically patterned and etched, such
as by ion milling or reactive ion etching (RIE), down to the top of
the exchange bridge base layer 351. This leaves the discrete
magnetic islands 302, 304 on their underlying pedestals 312, 314
and nonmagnetic regions, like space 305, between the islands.
[0036] While the present invention has been particularly shown and
described with reference to the preferred embodiments, it will be
understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form
and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope
of the invention. Accordingly, the disclosed invention is to be
considered merely as illustrative and limited in scope only as
specified in the appended claims.
* * * * *